Better Without Gilbert

I guess Bill Simmons would call this “The Ewing Theory.” For the unitiated, its the theory that some teams actually manage to play better when their star goes down… a la the Patrick Ewing era Knicks.

Call it what you want, it’s happening with Washington. They SHOULD have a version of the “Big 3” in Antawn Jamison, Caron Butler and Gilbert Arenas. What they have is a “Big 1,” and everything revolves around him.

If Gilbert Arenas was on that team last night… and the Celtics had gone up 14… the game would have been over. Gilbert would have tried to take over… he would have excluded his teammates… and he would have tried to be the hero. Meanwhile, everyone else stands and watches.

Last night, Caron Butler got hot. The Wizards rode him and they won. Gilbert never would have allowed that to happen. And for those of you Gilbert fans who want to say I’m full of crap… then explain to me how they’re 17-11 since the injury… when most people thought their season was over?

While a wanna-be basketball hero like Gilbert tries to do everything on the court… a real basketball hero like Kevin Garnett knows teams really win at practice:

“I think when you look at earlier tapes of ourselves we had a lot more spunk and energy. It’s just a matter of refocusing and getting back on that right track. It’s easier said than done. It’s not something that you can go to sleep and wake up and it’s (fixed). It’s going to take some effort and some work, and that’s what we plan on doing.

“Tomorrow is a practice day, a day to look at some film and fix some things and get ready for Portland.”

The last play looked like they had no play. Pierce standing around. Ray trying to shoot a 3 over the 7ft Haywood, when everyone in the stadium knew they needed a 3 to tie. If that was what Doc came up with in the huddle, we are in serious trouble.

The play should have been Perk and KG on the baseline, with Ray running between them for a double screen, then getting the ball at the 3pt line for a 3. Just like Billups did to win in Boston.

john - January 15, 2008 at 10:58 am

But you know.. The Wizards actually are good. Everyone assumes that just because there’s no Gilbert, they’re gonna suck, but Butler and Jamison are enough. They’re a team that doesn’t need much work, can win a playoff series or 2. The Celtics are in a funk, but it’s not like we just dropped 2 to the Clippers.

The Wizards, with or without Arenas, are still not a serious threat to the Celtics, but either way let’s hope Arenas comes back and ruins the team before the season is over.

a guy - January 15, 2008 at 1:07 pm

As every Celtic fan should have recognized by now, the Wizards are already a very good team, and they’re just getting better. They’re also a lot younger than the Celts, and that might mean fresher legs in the playoffs. And while it seems fashionable to say the Wiz are better off with Agent Zero, to me that’s like whistling past the graveyard. We better hope his leg is still bothering him come May, because if he comes back, the Wizards are going to cause problems for anyone they play.